Feed costs are killing me!

[becky3086]

I fed mine either Dumor chick starter from TSC to start with. At the time I started it was $13- something but then found the feed store was cheaper by about a dollar. After they were older I switched to laying mash. They have done just fine on it. I have gotten WAY behind in my butchering and one of the older meat hens just started laying.

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[Tracydr]

Quote:
I sure wish we had a TSC. I miss my Atwoods and TSC!
We have nothing like them here. I think the closest one is about 4 hours away in some small town I never heard of.
The closest we have to TSC is an ACE Hardware and I can't even find one that carries feed. There are some up by where my parents live in Cave Creek but none here in Mesa. They don't even have canning supplies at the ones I've been to around here!

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
On a little city lot with hardly any grass? Are you serious? Have you raised meat birds? They eat like pigs, literally!

 

[becky3086]

We have TSC but the local feed store is cheaper. Wal-mart here also sells chicken feed, about the same price as the feed store but the bags are only 40 lbs instead of 50.

 

[Tracydr]

Yeah, it was only $18.00 today. I think maybe the kid at the feed store was charging me wrong because the owner rang me up today and he says the prices haven't changed.
I'm still going to check into having a custom blend done in bulk down at one of the more agricultural towns before I get another batch of broilers. If anyone has a recipe they like, I'd love to have it.

 

[MandyH]

Good Lord, I was complaining because our feed went from $7.25 to $8.50.

 

[KauAnnie]

I just bought a $8 5lb purina starter feed to see if my chickens liked it. I think the bigger bag (50lb) is around $25 and this is in Hawaii.

 

[BigDaddy'sGurl]

I just paid 10.00 for 50# of starter/grower 18% protein today...but it's "off brand" from my feed store. I also bought 50# of layer pellets that are 16% protein for 9.90. Again, off brand and not the HIGHEST quality, but it keeps them fed and mostly laying, lol. I also got 25# of rabbit pellets for 5.95 and 25# of scratch for 6.95.

All in all, it came up to around 35 bucks. That will last me a month with the number of birds I have, so I guess I'm paying 35.00 for my eggs, lol.

On a side note, I feed my quail the chick starter instead of game bird feed. They are in great shape and the hen lays daily. There's an idea to save some money...

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

if you were paying 7.00 a bag too much you need to gather your reciepts and go get a refund!!!

 

[Cosmopolis Chick]

$15.99, 50lb Purina layer pellets 16% protein
17.99, 50lb Purina flock raiser, 20% protein
14.99, 50lb scratch

I supplement with:

CLEAN scraps from local produce stand, they won't 'save' stuff for me - I consume far too little, they let me have whatever I can get before the pig farmer gets there. I never take anything ikky, only things I would eat myself! They especially like broccoli, green beans, and mushrooms.

once a week or so buy them a head of cabbage, dice up about 1/3 ea day for 3 days. If I put any larger pieces they just use it for bedding.

whatever items the local food bank gives me that is not palatable but clean. I don't know where they get some of these brands / items, maybe taste

differs across the country. It does no good to pull it from my sack and give it back to them it just starts an argument. besides, feeding my chickens provides me with eggs - which the food bank does not give out. Oh, one thing I 'donate' to the chickens regularly is canned yams (unsweetened), I love 'em but they give me WAY more than I can eat. I mash 'em up in a bowl then stir in oatmeal until it's not sloppy anymore.

On a side note: I do not feed my chickens quantities of white flour (bread/loaves/buns/rolls/cake/doughnuts), that is just empty calories taking the place of wholesome food in their diet. I didn't let my kids eat those and I don't let my animals eat 'em either. Also, no fats or sweets: no bacon drippings, no chicken fat off the top of the soup. No pie/cake/sweet rolls/desserts, etc. I know some folks will disagree, that's fine. You have to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.

Table scraps: I seldom have any but I take out to them only the most beneficial parts: no gravy, no desserts, there actually isn't much in my kitchen that they can't have.

Egg shells: I keep an institutional size empty can on the stovetop and throw the eggshells in. They usually dry quickly, then I bake them in the oven when I'm baking something else (makes them easier to crumble). I crush them with my hands into a pile in one corner of the run. Free, clean, digestible calcium.